Seattle To Alaska on Two Wheels

17
Days and Nights - Part 1

Text and photos by Colleen First

Lots of people dream about it, but few of us ever
saddle up and head to the great Northwest Territory of Alaska.
When we
were presented with a diary of Colleen First's recent trip we thought it might
be fun to share it with our Sound RIDER! readers.
It's a long one and will
be published in four parts throughout the Fall and Winter.
For some it may
inspire, for those who have done the ride before, they may relive moments from
the past.

Day .5 � 100 miles The odometer on my bike had just
rolled over 10,000 when I left Seattle this evening, and the 100 or so miles I
put on between then and now were just the start. Doug and I agreed to meet in
White Rock, BC to start our epic journey northward, to the Arctic Ocean. We had
been talking about and planning this trip for almost a year. We looked at maps,
mileage, bikes, routes, equipment, supplies and money. Amazingly enough, it was
about to begin.

Day
1 � 480 miles The helpful woman at the motel desk in White Rock suggested
that if we wanted to avoid the Vancouver traffic on Friday morning then we
should leave by 6am. The alarm went off as it was supposed to do and we packed
up the bikes and took off east to Hope, BC. This is a rather dull stretch of
road, and at this hour there wasn't much going on. We had a quick bite to eat at
Hope before heading north up the Frasier River Canyon (#1). It's a beautiful
stretch of road and includes some excellent scenery along the Frasier River,
through Hell's Gate Air tram base and then on to the more arid and warmer
climates of Ashcroft and Cache Creek. Once we left Cache Creek we had reached a
point where neither of us had been this far north before. At Cache Creek the
road becomes the #97 and the landscape flattens out from a spectacular river
gorge to more mundane hills, farms and forests. At Williams Lake we decided that
after the heat and the early start to the day we deserved a rest. We found a
not-so-quiet spot near the lake underneath a large tree and attempted to nap.
Unfortunately, the gleeful children playing in the water, the crows calling out
to each other and the chain smoker at a nearby table all conspired to keep us
from complete rest. However, it was still appreciated (even though our chap
stick melted in our tank bags � it was hot!). We pulled into Prince George and
found a motel less than a block away from Moxie's, a tasty "classic" grill. I'm
not sure what "classic" is supposed to mean, but they have a damn fine Honey
Roasted Garlic Sirloin that really hit the spot!

Day 2 � 435 miles As would be typical for the trip,
we didn't leave Prince George until almost 9:30. We're on vacation, darn it, and
we're going to sleep in if we want! However, we didn't get started on the road
right away even after leaving the motel. It seems that the muffler/heat guards
that a friend of mine made didn't quite do the trick and the plastic bag Doug
used to line his saddlebag with melted onto some of his clothes. We need more
insulation, and we need it now. Fortunately we're still in the hands of
civilization and we found a Home Depot nearby. What to get, what to get??? We
scoured the aisles and found some pipe insulation that was actually something
like two sheets of aluminum foil with bubble wrap in between. Can't hurt, right?
So we buy a roll, cut and tape it together to create a lovely insulating wall
inside of Doug's right saddlebag. Tools and gear repacked, we proceeded westerly
on the Yellowhead Hwy. Now begins our journey into the unknown!

The Yellowhead winds through lots of agricultural lands
with frequent little towns dotting the way. The mountains got bigger and the
trees got thicker. The temperature was comfortable, the sky was mostly blue, the
roads were in good repair and traffic was not a problem. It was a great start to
our trip. Breakfast was found at the OK Caf� in Vanderhoof, served by Mennonites
of all people. We made a couple of stops along the way at Topley and New
Hazelton for refreshments and brief breaks, in addition to a few photo stops. At
Topley Doug found that part of his helmet was missing. It's a little part that
holds the visor on and is fairly vital. The first zip tie of the trip is called
up for duty.

At Smithers, BC, we met a gentleman who strongly
encouraged us to make the side trip to Stewart, BC and then cross over to Hyder,
AK to see where the grizzly bears feed on the salmon. It sounded good, so we
made reservations at the Rainey Creek Campground in Stewart. The name should
have warned us, but we were na�ve. The ride up #37 from the Yellowhead junction
near Kitwanga was peaceful, with very little vehicle traffic. We saw our first
black bear (there would be six seen on this day alone) as well as a beaver and a
marmot. Once we took the turnoff to Stewart the scenery became more intense. The
mountains reared up in front of us like the teeth of a bear. Glaciers and
snow-covered peaks played hide-and-seek with the clouds and the sun was slowly
sinking to the far northwest. Rivers rushed past us with their cold water
frothing over rocks that had tumbled down the mountainsides. It was a beautiful
ride.

Once in Stewart we had dinner at a Chinese restaurant and
then reconsidered camping and looked into the availability of a motel room. We
were shocked by the price and tucked our tails between our legs to go set up
camp. In the rain. And the almost-dark. Surrounded by mosquitoes.

Day 3 � 451 miles We woke up at 5am with really
cold rainwater dripping on us from a leaking tent. Our sleeping bags were wet.
Our gear was wet. We were wet. We got up, dragged everything over to a covered
picnic shelter and in the cold, cloud-covered morning light we stuffed all of
our soaking stuff into bags and tied them back on the bikes. Alas, we couldn't
leave town just yet: the gas station didn't open for another hour. And the caf�
wouldn't open for another 10 minutes, but we let ourselves in anyway and had a
seat in the relative warmth. After a leisurely and tasty breakfast we rode over
to the gas station, filled up the bikes and then rode a very wet ride back
through the not-so-spectacular mountains that couldn't be seen.

We rejoined the Stewart-Cassiar Hwy at Meziadin Junction
and headed north, into progressively better weather, although it never truly
warmed up. There isn't much in the way of civilization until you get to Iskut,
and even that is a just a tiny little store by the side of the road. We stopped
� unfortunately � at Dease Lake for lunch. Icky, no-character place with a
server who repeatedly hacked over her order pad and the food. Yuck. Come to
think of it, I didn't eat there, but Doug had some pie. Somewhere along there is
Bell II (not sure if that's a "2" or an "11"; Doug says "11"). It's a really
nice and expensive looking place. Apparently their clientele are those insane
people who require a helicopter to get to the glaciers and snow fields in order
to ski. Regardless, it's a nice place with friendly people.

We had been warned about the road conditions along this
highway; that there was lots of construction and stretches of gravel, and we
were not disappointed. The gravel sections were well-marked and easy to
anticipate. They were generally fairly well-packed, although I can see that a
good rain would easily make it a quagmire. The gravel sections were varied in
their length and placement, never knowing if the next corner would be solid or
not, nor how long it would go on. There was one stretch of construction that was
particularly unpleasant. It stretched for over 10 miles and was all loose and
thick gravel. This was quite treacherous as the gravel can grab your front tire
and pull you over if you're not careful. Not to mention the fact that it was
raining again.

There were a couple more black bear sightings that day, as
well as some horses along the side of the road. It was one of those "Watch for
Livestock" areas, and unfortunately someone wasn't watching, as we saw two dead
horses a couple of miles later. It's odd how you get used to seeing road kill
deer or rabbits, but a horse? That really threw me off�

At the northern end of the Stewart-Cassiar highway is the
Alaska Highway. We stopped briefly at this junction and then headed west along
the Alaska Highway, following its gentle curves and studying the vastness of the
surrounding forests. We ended the day at Walker's Continental Divide Motel in
Swift River, BC and none too early. It had been a long day, starting with a wet
tent and then nothing but roads that required our constant concentration. The
motel at Walker's was an ATCO building, something that Doug and I had scorned
not more than a couple of hours earlier at Junction 37 (http://www.atcostructures.com/)
but it was heavenly! Warm, comfy, quiet, hot showers and available! As a bonus,
even though the kitchen was "closed", they still managed to rustle up some
homemade soup and grilled cheese sandwiches (on homemade bread) � it was to die
for!

Day 4 � 300 miles A breakfast just as tasty as the
previous evening's dinner set us on our way from Walker's and on our way along
the Alaska Highway. The weather cooperated and was about 68 degrees and mostly
sunny. I am still amazed at the number of trees that Northern BC/Yukon/Alaska
have! They stretch as far as the eye can see, and with no people populations to
interrupt their command of the hills and mountains. I have to admit that I'm
very disappointed to see the extensive "re-engineering" that they're doing to
the Alaskan Highway. There are literally dozens of places where you can see
where the road used to go, but in the interest of safety (or whatever) they have
since moved the road so as to maintain a more level, straight and therefore dull
route. Doug and I took the time to follow a bit of the old highway through the
woods on our return trip, which was really fascinating. If we had more time on
this trip I think that I would have liked to have followed more of it. The road
crew had chewed up the road surface to allow for a faster naturalization, but
you could still see chunks of asphalt scattered around. Sigh. They're ruining a
perfectly good road � go ride it now while it's still remotely interesting!!!

We saw our first moose of the trip; a timid cow munching
away in a river down below the highway. She must have been camera-shy because
even though we were quite a distance from her she started to move away, so we
left her alone.

There was a nice stop at Whitehorse, YK, which is a place
that both Doug and I really liked. It's a clean bustling town with lots of nice
shops and businesses. The motorcycle dealership doesn't stock anything for the
KLR though, and it's a 3 day wait for shipments. I guess if you were to live
here you'd be better off just have a parts bike sitting around.

After Whitehorse Doug and I continued west through Haines
Junction where we had a surprisingly tasty dinner at the Kluane Park Inn. The
mountains became larger and more snow covered and the fields were filled with
fireweed, named so because it is the first thing to take root after a forest
fire wipes out an area (or any other disturbance of the vegetation).

At Kluane Lake the highway becomes more like a rural
two-lane road that I would expect to see around the Pacific Northwest. It
followed the shore of the lake closely and had some fun corners and dips.
Eventually the road straightened out again and Doug and I decided to stop at
Destruction Bay for the evening. It was a nice enough place, but not terribly
remarkable. It did, however, have the three requirements: food, bed and gas. It
also had some cool stickers that I'm going to put on my bike!!

SUBSCRIBE FREE

Subscription has its privileges
- Each month Sound RIDER!
publishes new features on rides, clubs, dealers and events. Don't miss
out on these informative stories.

Sign up today for your FREE subscription and you'll get notification
each month when the new issue comes on line. You'll also be the first to
find out about special Sound RIDER! events. From time to time, we
also provide valuable coupons that can save you hundreds of dollars on
motorcycle services. What are you waiting for?
Click here to sign up now!